Ahead of final England Test
\nMisbah says players know \u2018having supreme fitness will help them to perform under pressure\u2019
\nnews agency
\nSOUTHAMPTON
\nNational team coach Misbah-ul-Haq says he is not worried about the team\u2019s fitness as Pakistan gets ready to face England in the third and final Test in Southampton starting on Friday.
\nA season reshaped by the coronavirus pandemic has left Pakistan with a programme of three Tests in as many weeks.
\nWhat could have been a truly gruelling schedule became less arduous as a result of so much time being lost to rain and bad light during the drawn second Test, also at Southampton, concluded Monday.
\nBut Misbah, who as a 42-year-old captain of Pakistan celebrated scoring a hundred against England at Lord\u2019s in 2016 with a round of press-ups, has long been convinced of the need for his players to be in shape.
\n\u201cFitness has been an important part of our strategy as a team since I took on the role of head coach last September and we have seen the benefits in the two Tests so far,\u201d Misbah wrote in a column for the Pakistan Cricket Board\u2019s website.
\n\u2018Perform under pressure\u2019
\n\u201cThe players have taken ownership of their fitness levels and they should be given credit for that, especially after three months at home during the COVID-19 pandemic,\u201d he added.
\n\u201cThey know having supreme fitness will help them to perform under pressure.\u201d
\nPakistan go into the series finale 1-0 down after a three-wicket defeat in the first Test at Old Trafford.
\nBut that loss saw Shan Masood show plenty of endurance during a Test-best 156 while wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan, impressive behind the stumps in Manchester, was named man-of-the-match in the second Test for a determined 72.
\n\u201cMohammad Rizwan is a great example of that (fitness) in the way he ran between the wickets and batted with the tail,\u201d explained Misbah.
\n\u201cShan Masood also showed it in the first Test, batting for almost eight hours, and running really well with Shadab Khan. The way they stole quick singles is something that you don\u00b4t see much in Test cricket and certainly not from a Pakistan team.\u201d
\nThe second day of the second Test was also Pakistan\u2019s Independence Day, which has previously coincided with some notable moments in the country\u2019s cricket history.
\n\u201cIt is always a special moment to celebrate Independence Day during a Test match and Pakistan has some great memories from previous such occasions in England: our first-ever Test win in England in 1954 came just after Independence Day, as did the famous win at Lord\u00b4s in 1982 and, from a personal point of view, our victory at the Oval in 2016 when we levelled the series on 14 August itself,\u201d recalled Misbah.
\nUnfortunately for Pakistan, the weather in Southampton meant the current side could not add to those successes, although Misbah said: \u201cHopefully we can deliver a late gift to the nation in the final Test and announce another Independence Day! Or, as coach, I can just announce that this is the month of Independence.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ahead of final England Test Misbah says players know \u2018having supreme fitness will help them to perform under pressure\u2019 news agency SOUTHAMPTON National team coach Misbah-ul-Haq says he is not worried about the team\u2019s fitness as Pakistan gets ready to face England in the third and final Test in Southampton starting on Friday. A season […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":139828,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-139818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n